Incidents

Truck, Rescue, and Asst. Head to Boswell Around 1am, the RTFD was once again alerted to a reported house fire, this time in the 605 (Boswell) box area. Truck 3-1 (Lt. Kap), Rescue 3-1 (Capt. Guizio), and Asst. Shaffer all responded. Truck 3-1’s crew assisted the Engine Companies from 605…

At 7pm Sunday night, 2-10-13, the Rescue Squad headed to Portage Twp. to assist Station 83 with a reported house fire. Once the Rescue arrived, crews established RIT, laddered the building, opened egress points throughout the building, and assisted crews with overhaul and ventilation. The crew of 7 returned to…

Rescue, Truck, Tanker Head To Windber This afternoon, the RTFD was alerted to assist Windber Fire (611) with a house fire. The Rescue (Capt. Guizio), Truck (Dep. Meyers), Tanker (FF Rager), and 3 Chief headed down the hill to assist. The Rescue Crew established RIT and conducted Truck Co functions.…

Here is one for your Monday motivation. Which do you prefer? While the difference between the needles may not seem significant now, it will come back to haunt you when you need the extra air. Rig checks are completed every day at the RTFD to ensure our equipment functions properly, and most importantly, our cylinders are FULL. In order for us to be any help to our residents, we must first make sure we help ourselves. Remember, almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades - NOT firefighting.Which one would you take. The one on the left at 4500, or the one on the right at 4000. Many fire departments I've been to, or firefighters I have talked to all have a similar guideline when it comes to checking SCBA's and bottles. If it's between 4000-4500 it is good to be in service. What is everybody's opinions? What is your departments guideline?

I have made it a point, every morning I come in for a shift, to check my SCBA completely, and if it is not at 4500 I swap it out for one that is. That 500 PSI could be the last few breaths you need to get out of a building, or to help pull a victim or a fellow brother out. Take that extra minute now to possibly save a life later.